Art of Explanation

LEE LeFEVER is the Chief Explainer, illustrator, and voice of Common Craft, and is widely credited for inspiring the video explanation industry. Since 2007, the company has won numerous awards and has created explanations for the world's most respected brands, including Intel, Google, Dropbox, and Ford. Its online videos have been viewed more than 50 million times. Today, Common Craft's mission is to make the world a more understandable place to live and work by inspiring and equipping professionals to become explanation specialists.Lee can be found in Seattle, Washington, with his wife and business partner, Sachi, and their dog, Bosco, a fine swimmer.

• Preface xiAuthor Note xvIntroduction xviiPart 1 Plan 1Chapter 1 Learning to Run 3Chapter 2 What Is an Explanation? 7What Is Not An Explanation 8Defining Explanation 9Explanations Require Empathy 10Act and Art 11Look at Your Fish 12Explanation Lowers the Cost of Understanding 13An Explanation Is a Way to Package Ideas 14Explanations Answer the Question ‘‘Why?’’ 16Explanations Make People Care 16Chapter 3 Why Explanations Fail 23All About Confidence 24Assumptions Cause Failure 24Words Can Hurt 26We Lack Understanding 27We Want to Appear Smart 28The Direct Approach—No Context 30Summary 32Chapter 4 Planning Your Explanations 33Identifying Explanation Problems 34Part 2 Package 43Chapter 5 Packaging Ideas 45Stepping Outside the Bubble 46What Goes into the Packaging? 48Chapter 6 Context 51Forest then Trees 53Solving the Context Problem 56Context in Explanation—We Can All Agree 61Context and Pain 63Example: Google Docs 63On the Explanation Scale 65Summary 66Chapter 7 Story 67Stories Versus Facts 68But I’m Not a Storyteller 69Common Craft and Stories 71The Simple Ingredient: People 73Using Stories in Explanation 74Basic Story Format 75When Does Storytelling Not Work? 77Personification and Story 79On the Explanation Scale 81Summary 81Chapter 8 Connections 83Connecting Your Long Lost Uncle—Old Versus New 84Building-on Versus Establishing 87Analogy 89Common Craft Videos 90On the Explanation Scale 92Summary 92Chapter 9 Description 93Explaining Web Browsers 95Explanation Is Not a Recipe 97On The Explanation Scale 99Summary 99Chapter 10 Simplification 103Chapter 11 Constraints 113Common Craft and Constraints 115Constraints and Your Explanations 117Summary 119Chapter 12 Preparing for and Writing an Explanation 121The Common Craft Writing Process 122Big Ideas 123Research and Discovery 123Script Writing 125The Real Thing 128Chapter 13 Bringing an Explanation Together 131Part 3 Present 147Chapter 14 Common Craft’s Lessons Learned 149Common Craft Gets Started 149Ten Lessons Learned from Common Craft Explanations 151Chapter 15 Right Medium for the Message 157A Transformation 158Media Options 159Presentation Modes 161Recording and Distribution Options 164Constraints Come to the Rescue 165Summary 171Chapter 16 Visuals 173You Can Use Visuals 178Dan Roam’s 6 × 6 Rule 178Common Craft Visual Metaphors 186Noise and Simplicity in Visuals 188Infographics 191Creating Digital Visuals 193Summary 193Chapter 17 Emma and Carlos 195Epilogue 202Chapter 18 Explanation Culture and Your Life as an Explainer 203Your Life as An Explainer 206Acknowledgments 209Links to Common Craft Videos 211About the Author 215Bibliography 217Index 219